Relief
by Pandaling
Summary: 【Contains Spoilers from Chapter 48】 After the Illuminati disappears with Izumo and Shima, the Exwires prepare to leave in order to chase them down. While the events takes place, Paku is enjoying her night at the Academy Festival's Dance Party, unaware of what just happened. Untill somebody calls...


Leaving the dance party early, Paku returned to her room alone. The 3rd year student who was her partner was friendly, but she was fatigued from organizing the haunted house with her class for the Academy Festival, and the pleasant nervousness she felt all day leading up to the dance party. Paku and her partner danced, laughed, spoke to each other a lot and both left with good impressions of each other. He even walked her to the entrance of the girl's dormitory, like a true gentleman.

"Izumo-chan, I'm back!"

Pushing the door open, she called towards the general direction of the sofa where Izumo had sat before she left. She swapped her heels, which she bought especially for tonight's occasion, for a more comfortable pair of fluffy slippers. Instantly she felt relief on the soles of her feet, which were in agony after walking around all day in new shoes. She sighed.

When she couldn't hear a reply from Izumo, she looked over towards the sofa. The light of the dormitory was left on, but Izumo was nowhere to be seen. As the book her roommate was reading and her iPod was left carelessly on the side table, Paku assumed Izumo had gone out.

_Oh, so Izumo-chan went to Okumura-kun's afterall._

Paku was vaguely aware Izumo liked Okumura, but the fact that her friend was determined not to help but went anyway made her sure.

"You really aren't honest, are you?"

Paku muttered as she took off her necklace.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, she began to browse the dorm room for something cold to drink. At the same time, she heard a familiar ringtone from the bed area. A melancholic love song, sung by a popular artist. It was Izumo's favourite song, so Paku had set it to ring whenever her friend called.

She ran over to the bed, with her slippers making gentle patting sounds on the floor. She grabbed her mobile and saw on the screen the words 'Izumo-chan' and a purikura photo of them two together.

"Hello?"

It probably was Izumo notifying her that she was at Okumura's stall, or that she would be late coming back to the dorm, Paku guessed as she spoke in the receiver. But there was no answer.

"Um, hello? Izumo-chan, can you hear me?"

On the other side, there seemed to be some kind of commotion. Paku wondered if Izumo had accidentally dialed her.

"Izumo-chan? It sounds like you can't hear me, so I'm going to hang up."

The sound of the commotion was building up slowly, and Paku could hear the sounds of people walking around. Behind, there was a rhythmical sound of air being beaten into submission.

_She can't hear me. Oh well._

As she tried to press the button that would end the call, Paku faintly heard somebody's voice.

"...P-Paku-san..."

It was obvious the speaker was not Izumo. Their voice was higher pitched, and they did not speak as briskly. It was more reserved, and sounded rather soft. The voice was also hoarse.

"Shiemi-chan?"

"Ah, oh, it connected. Sorry, Paku-san, is it okay to talk now?"

Whether she was in a hurry or trembling, she spoke with odd intervals between the words.

"Um, I'm sorry, I found Izumo-chan's mobile. And, um, I really don't know how to tell you this but..."

Half way through telling her tale, Shiemi begun to cry. Gasping for breath and sniffling hard, she spoke to Paku as quickly as she can. Kamiki-san, and Shima-kun. Her voice was sometimes drowned out by the commotion behind her, and she stuttered and stammered at certain words or phrases. Even then, Shiemi continued talking.

"So, now, Rin, and Suguro-kun, and the rest of the class, and I-I...W-We're going to... Kamiki-san..."

The sudden situation and the noisy commotion drowning out Shiemi's words, Paku couldn't understand what was going on. Shima, who was in her old class at Exorcism Cram School took Izumo. The Exwires were going to get her, lead by a 2nd year student called Takara, to Illuminati.

_But, didn't Izumo-chan go to Okumura-kun's festival stall to help out?_

In the confusion, one word made her freeze. Illuminati. Paku had heard that name from Izumo, just once. Her friend did not explain what the word meant, but it had frightened her friend and made her worry.

"Shiemi-chan,"

Paku spoke, stopping her crying friend in the middle of the sentence. Until this point, she had let her friend speak freely, but when upon understanding that the Illuminati were involved and that Izumo had been _taken_, she knew then and there that this matter was serious. Though she couldn't comprehend the small details as she quit the Exorcism Cram School a while ago, according to Shiemi's muddled speech, the principal of the True Cross Academy was involved and so were other exorcist teachers, such as Okumura-sensei.

"I think I get it."

"P-paku-san, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I promise, we will bring Kamiki-san back. I'm sorry."

On the other side of the line, Shiemi repeated apologies, crying.

While trying to calm her friend down, and while saying gentle, comforting things, Paku thought.

_Hey, Izumo-chan. You always say that you only trust me, and that you'll only get close to me._

_In the True Cross Academy, there are loads of people who trust you, and who want to save you. Even though I'm your best friend, I don't really know what's happening and there is nothing I can do. But the people who you say you don't like or are annoying and you keep a distance from really really care about you._

"It's okay. If you and Okumura-kun and the others went to get Izumo-chan, I'm sure she will be happy. She might not say it or show it, but I know she will be happy inside."

Before she could control them, tears began to well up in Paku's eyes. Her worry about her best friend, the fear she felt when she heard the name Illuminati, the surprise of the sudden phone call. Although she would never cry and sniffle like Shiemi, those tears fell down her cheek like rivers. Her tears were because of the worry and the fear, but somewhere were also feelings of happiness for Izumo, and gratitude for Shiemi and the others.

From elementary school, Izumo was classed as a 'weirdo'. A strange kid who thought she could see ghosts. For that reason, the kids in their class refused to associate with her and excluded her from their groups. Despite that, however, Paku willingly acted friendly towards the 'weirdo'. There wasn't a particular reason. It was just that they were members on the same committee with in the class, and Izumo, who was independent from a young age, was trying to do all of the tasks alone. _I'm on the committee member too, so I'll help you._ That was enough.

Looking back on it now, it was natural that Izumo could see demons at a young age, since she had sustained a mashou early in her life. And since she was so young, it was understandable that she would mistake those demon as ghosts. When Paku joined the True Corss Academy and sustained a mashou herself in the Exorcism Cram School, and when she finally saw the fearful things Izumo had been seeing all of these years, she understood why her friend 'went nuts' when she made claims she saw a ghost. Those things were scary. And Izumo suffered the fear nobody else can understand alone.

_I'm worried about you, Izumo-chan. You carry everything on your shoulders and you try and work it out all alone without relying on anybody's help. It's ok to ask for guidance, and I want you to rely on me more. It want you to be friendly with people other than me, and make loads of friends, and laugh like a normal teenager. _

Those wishes and worries, however, was removed. All by this phone call.

_Izumo-chan, I'm so happy for you. When they rescue you, please be honest and say that you were scared and cry, and then say you're happy and smile, and say thank you to them. Be honest with yourself, and admit that you have allies and friends, and that you're not alone anymore. _

Paku's hand holding the mobile trembled. She tried her hardest to sound cheerful over the phone, so Shiemi wouldn't suspect that she was crying. The girl on the other side of the phone sniffled, and promised that she would return with Paku's best friend. Rin will make everything okay. Those words spoken with confidence made Paku's tears flow even harder.

_Okumura-kun's coming for you. So is Shiemi-chan, and Suguro-kun, and Okumura-sensei, and the others. _

_I'm scared for your safety, especially the Illuminati is involved somehow. But, they're coming for you._

_You don't have to suffer alone now, Izumo-chan._

When the phone call ended, for a long time, Paku sat and cried helplessly on her bed.


End file.
